(Tampa, Florida)- For the second annual J/70 Quantum Winter Series, the
“Sailingest Yacht Club in the South”- Davis Island YC- is again hosting a
large fleet of passionate J/70 sailors eager to head south to warmer
weather and sample some good’ole fashioned southern hospitality. With
an excellent turnout of fifty boats so far, DIYC’s Regatta Chair George
Haynie and PRO Judy Hanlon will have their hands full keeping this eager
fleet rolling and pumping out races for the two day event. The weather
forecast so far looks promising, with 10-15 kts NW winds filling in
behind a cold front, slowly diminishing to under 10 kts NW shifting NE
on Sunday. With temperatures in the 50s-70s and sunny skies, no
question the “shorts & shades” will be widespread!Quantum Sails have been the principal sponsor for the series and this year they will be featuring some of their top sailmakers providing seminars and on-going coaching for those who wish to be helped on their boat-handling, sail trim and so forth. At a minimum, expect to see J/22 World Champion Allan “Albie” Terhune, Scott Nixon, Martie Kullman and (if rumor holds true), even former J/24 World Champion Terry Hutchinson making a guest appearance for the Quantum Sails team. As a “local” from St Petersburg, Florida, one also wouldn’t be surprised to see Quantum Sails supporter and coach- Ed Baird (yet another former J/24 World Champion and America’s Champion)- make a “guest” appearance.
The three-part winter series takes place this weekend from December 13th to 14th, then it’s followed up just after New Year’s 2015 with Act #2 on January 10th to 11th, just prior to the J/70 Midwinters in Key West, Florida, then followed up by Act #3 from February 7th to 8th.
An important new feature for the regatta will be the introduction of both on-board “live” broadcast of any teams using the RaceQs.com “tracking app” (Android and Apple iOS) and, subsequent coaching analysis post-racing at the Davis Island YC bar! Check out the app here at RaceQs.com (http://www.raceqs.com). The “live” broadcast will take place starting on Saturday 11am Eastern Standard Time at: http://raceqs.com/regattas/quantum-j70-winter-seriesThe fleet is packed with talent and many of the usual suspects from past major J/70 championships (Midwinters, North Americans and Worlds) are in attendance. Plus, there are a number of new teams participating from across country. Amongst the leading teams may be Jud Smith’s AFRICA, Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTON FLY, Peter Tuite’s CURRAGH, Al Terhune’s DAZZLER, Rob Britts’ HOT MESS, Tim Molony’s JOUST, Cole Allsopp’s MOXIE, Marty Kullman’s NEW WAVE, Tom Londrigan’s POLARIS, Will Welles’ RASCAL, John Brim’s RIMETTE, Dave Franzel’s SPRING, Kris Werner’s SUPERFECTA, Ted Johnson’s VITAMIN J and Taylor Lutz’s ZOUNDS HEARING. The “new kid on the block” could well be a “sleeper” as most sailors East of the Rocky Mountains have never heard about him, but watch out for Jack “Jacko” Franco sailing Dave Ullman’s USA 3— while recently seen sailing out of Lakewood YC, Jack is a past Intergalactic World Lido 14 Champion from Newport Beach, CA (if memory serves us correctly)! For more J/70 Quantum Winter Series sailing information
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